Data output devices used in conjunction with host computing systems, such as printers and plotters, were initially mechanically and electrically simple. The information was printed as soon as it was received, the speed of the signals was carefully limited to match the printing capacity of the output device. Over time, increased printing capacity was provided by improved mechanical systems and/or CRT display devices in conjunction with data buffers which would serve to store a rapid burst of signals from the host system while the printer printed at a slower rate. Current data output devices also restrict the host system output signals, presuming that the device accurately follows and displays the signal outputs in printed text or graphic forms. However, any errors from the data output device were typically ignored unless the system completely shut down, or were detected by operator intervention. As a result, noncatastrophic failures would frequently go by unnoticed and/or uncorrected unless attended to directly by the operator. Other erroneous conditions, such as the excessive speed of data output signals to the computer output device from the host, or improper coded instructions would not be detectable or discernable by the host computer without operator intervention.